Cliff Richard and the Shadows
Sir Cliff Richard OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb, 14 October 1940) is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor and philanthropist. Richard has sold more than 250 million records worldwide.2 He has total sales of over 21 million singles in the UK and is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.3 With his backing group the Shadows, Richard, originally positioned as a rebellious rock and roll singer in the style of Little Richard4 and Elvis Presley, dominated the British popular music scene in the pre-Beatles period of the late 1950s and early 1960s. His 1958 hit single "Move It" is often described as Britain's first authentic rock and roll song, and John Lennon once claimed that "before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music."56 Increased focus on his Christian faith and subsequent softening of his music later led to a more middle of the road pop image, sometimes venturing into contemporary Christian music. Over a career spanning more than 50 years, Richard has become a fixture of the British entertainment world, amassing many gold and platinum discs and awards, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male twice and the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and two Ivor Novello Awards. He has had more than 130 singles, albums and EPs make the UK Top 20, more than any other artist7 and holds the record (with Elvis Presley) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its first six decades (1950s–2000s). He has achieved 14 UK No. 1 singles8 and is the only singer to have had a No. 1 single in the UK in five consecutive decades: the 1950s through to the 1990s. In 2008, he celebrated his 50th anniversary in music by releasing a greatest hits album, featuring the new track "Thank You for a Lifetime", which reached number 3 in the UK singles chart. In November 2013, Richard released The Fabulous Rock 'n' Roll Songbook, which became the 100th album of his career.9 Richard has never achieved the same impact in the United States despite eight US Top 40 singles, including the million-selling "Devil Woman" and "We Don't Talk Anymore", the latter becoming the first to reach the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 in the 1980s by a singer who had been in the Billboard top 40 in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In Canada, Richard achieved comparatively more success, with a successful period in the early 1960s, and again in the late 1970s and early 1980s with some singles and albums reaching gold and platinum status.10 He has remained a popular music, film, and television personality in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Northern Europe and Asia, and he retains a following in other countries. Richard has been a resident for most of his life in the United Kingdom, but in 2010 confirmed that he is now a citizen of Barbados.11 He divides his time between living in Barbados and at a vineyard property in Portugal.12 In 2014, Richard was accused of historical sexual offences, which he strongly denied; he has not been arrested or charged with any offence.131415 Category:Rock and Roll Category:Pop Rock Category:Sixties Category:Hall of Fame snubs